Welcome to the Southern Ridges! The Ridges are a series of seven connected hill and coastal parks that span the length of Singapore’s south-western coastline. The full length of the hike from end-to-end is about 9 kilometres or about 3 – 5 hours walking time. Beginning with a hike up to Mount Faber Park, the path winds through Telok Blangah Hill Park before either turning south to Labrador Park via the Alexandra Floral Trail and Berlayer Creek Boardwalk, or continuing west to HortPark. After that, the route rises to cut across Kent Ridge Park and NUS Kent Ridge Campus before descending through Clementi Woods to West Coast Park.
The Southern Ridges can be traversed on foot or on bike, and are suitable for all ages and abilities. These parks feature both natural and urban beauty spots – ranging from serene forest walks through regenerating secondary forests to unique architectural gems. Most sections of the Southern Ridges are open 24 hours every day, except for HortPark which is open from 6 am – 11 pm daily.
This series of caches will highlight the various attractions you can find along the ridges, and help you learn more about these places and locales. Bring your family and camera along, and enjoy the hike through a scenic park of the the island. We hope you will enjoy the walk as much as we did!
Stage 6: Alkaff Mansion
Alkaff Mansion is a 19th-century colonial bungalow located at Telok Blangah Green and is located within the Telok Blangah Hill Park. Built in 1918 by a member of the prominent Alkaff family as a weekend house, it became known for hosting high society parties in the 1930s. After World War 2, the house was abandoned.
The mansion served as the headquarters of the World Buddhist Society from around 1970 to 1984 before it was redeveloped into a restaurant and party venue in the 1990s. The property was then returned to the government in 2004 upon closure of the restaurant. Left vacant for a number of years, the mansion was given a new lease of life when an Italian restaurant occupied the premises in 2011, until it ceased operations in 2016. As of today, the mansion remains vacated and under the care of the Singapore Land Authority.
The cache is located in the guard rail on the way up to the Mansion, which is a short detour along the route to the next leg of your journey. Nice views can be had from the Mansion’s entrance or the top of the Telok Blangah Park Terrace, which is a short walk west from the cache site.